Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 24 November 2023.

Producers hold back VAM offers for Asia amid US outage
By Hwee Hwee Tan 24-Nov-23 12:31 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Producers are looking to divert vinyl acetate monomer supplies from Asia if a shortfall persists in the Atlantic basin from a major supply outage in the US.

China’s Wanhua to enhance core business, explore future industries – president
By Fanny Zhang 23-Nov-23 17:08 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Wanhua Chemical will continue to invest and innovate for sustainable growth, with each of its three major businesses having distinct development focuses, according to the company’s President Kou Guangwu.

Oil prices fall more than $1/bbl after OPEC+ delays meeting
By Nurluqman Suratman 23-Nov-23 10:37 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Oil prices fell by more than $1/bbl on Thursday, extending losses in the previous session after OPEC and its allies delayed a meeting to discuss whether to expand oil output cuts.

Singapore 2023 GDP to grow around 1%; exports to contract deeper
By Nurluqman Suratman 22-Nov-23 13:44 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Singapore’s trade-reliant economy is projected to grow at around 1.0% for the whole of 2023, with exports expected to post a steeper contraction amid the global economic slowdown.

Poor demand constrains Asia petrochemical production; further output cuts likely
By Nurluqman Suratman 21-Nov-23 12:15 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Operating rates at petrochemical plants in Asia will remain constrained, with further production cuts likely amid weak margins due to high costs, oversupply, and poor downstream demand.

INSIGHT: Asia petchem prices expected to trend down through traditional November lull
By Jimmy Zhang 20-Nov-23 22:00 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asia petrochemical prices are expected to move downward in November mainly due to the traditional low demand season.

China’s moulding grade PC import demand to stay thin
By Li Peng Seng 20-Nov-23 10:21 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China’s spot import prices for moulding grade polycarbonate (PC) have been on the downward spiral and the market is expected to stay bearish in the weeks ahead as buyers will purchase only on a need-to basis.